Advocates for improving the nation’s passenger rail system see it as a faster, cleaner way to travel. But other transportation policy experts believe those benefits are overstated and don’t justify the high cost of providing passenger train service.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, Economy
Doyle on dairy: Immigrant worker role increasing
WATERLOO — Top Wisconsin officials acknowledged Tuesday that Wisconsin dairy farmers increasingly rely upon immigrant workers, including large numbers who may be undocumented — a result of demand for labor and the nation’s porous borders.
Posted inDairyland Diversity, WisWatch Blog
Center to probe growing role of immigrants on state dairy farms
Upcoming coverage: Dairy farmers have new incentives to expand. Meanwhile, national estimates indicate that half of the immigrant dairy workers — who make up 40 percent of the dairy work force — lack immigration papers. The Center is collaborating with The Country Today to cover the nexus of dairy and immigration in Wisconsin.
Posted inNews about Wisconsin Watch
VIDEO: Meet our staff, hear our story
Executive director Andy Hall and others talk about the Center’s creation and purpose.
Posted inGovernment
Doyle chided; lawmaker offers to track receipts
The offer by Rep. Bill Kramer (R-Waukesha) comes after a collaborative report on Gov. Jim Doyle’s failure to properly document his spending.
Posted inGovernment
Newspaper: Doyle refuses questions on travel expenses
At a Milwaukee event, the governor declined to respond to our report showing deficiencies in his reporting of travel expenses.
Posted inHealth & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Accidents in non-motorized boats often deadly
There are far fewer accidents involving canoes and rowboats than motorized boats, but those that are reported are far more likely to be deadly.
Posted inGovernment
Republican legislators want hearings into travel by Doyle, others
In response to reporting by the Center, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and University of Wisconsin-Madison students, Republican lawmakers are asking for hearings on travel by state elected officials.
Posted inGovernment
Doyle’s travel reports deficient: Documentation lacking 145 times over two years
In 2007 and 2008, Gov. Jim Doyle and his staff did not always file travel expense reports as required by state policy.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
Wisconsin receives “C” for lawmakers’ disclosures
The state’s financial disclosure requirements rank 22nd in a Center for Public Integrity survey, partly because elected officials don’t need to report information about their spouses’ property.
Posted inNews about Wisconsin Watch
WCIJ receives grant from Evjue Foundation
The charitable arm of Madison’s The Capital Times gives us $5,000.
Posted inNews about Wisconsin Watch
Center hires staff, begins its work
The Center gets started on projects about government spending and transparency, immigration and criminal justice, among others.